The Beatles · Rubber Soul · song 2
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) tuning.
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (The Beatles, 1965) is in E Standard, about 12 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
12 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −12 ¢.
The Beatles · Rubber Soul · 1965
About Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
A waltz in E from Rubber Soul (1965), carried by Lennon's acoustic guitar. The tabs put both acoustic parts, Lennon's six-string and Harrison's 12-string, in standard tuning with a capo at the 2nd fret, so open D shapes sound in E. Harrison doubles the melody on sitar, the first sitar on a Beatles record.
TuneLit measured the 1987 CD, George Martin's stereo remix of Rubber Soul, where the album sits about 12 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.1). This song's own reading is weak, because the sitar and the strummed guitars blur the pitch, and it points much lower, about 36 ¢ flat. It falls short of the confidence needed for a value of its own, so Tune uses the album's E Standard −12 ¢, with the capo at the 2nd fret.
How the song reached E is not settled: the early takes were in D, and the remake may have been capoed or sped up in the mix. Both vinyl copies TuneLit checked also read 31 to 33 ¢ flat, so if your D shapes sound sharp against the record, lower the reference toward A 431 and listen again.
Tip: Clamp the capo at the 2nd fret, then compare the open D-shape chord with the intro, and lower the reference if you sound sharp.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −12 ¢, the notes Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) sits 12 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 6 should ring together without a wobble.
Or the other way round
Move the record into your tuning
Rather keep your guitar as it is? Let Play along move Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E Standard −12 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) moves up 12 cents, at its own speed. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) in?
E Standard −12 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.